Snapshot

Well, what can I say? It’s Brandon Sanderson, you know what to expect here; Snapshot is a compelling mini Sci-Fi gem.

The last time I read anything by Brandon Sanderson, it was Arcanum Unbounded around six months ago; this fact itself is a sin already. I’ve caught up to all his books and novellas in his Cosmere universe and I told myself I won’t read anything written by him outside of that universe. Why? Well, I have this belief that just because it’s not his main series, it won’t be as good or creative. Don’t judge me, based on my experience, this has almost always been the case. Alas, here I am, who was I kidding? Less than two months left until Oathbringer’s release date and I just can’t wait any longer. I’ve been on a Sanderson withdrawal for too long and this novella was the little fix I needed.

The concept used in Snapshot—the recreation an alternate reality of a specific day in time for the purpose of investigation—may not be the most original concept out there; plenty of video games and movies has adapted this concept already. However, despite the unoriginality, Sanderson did a great job in utilizing the concept of Snapshot and Deviation to create his own engaging Sci-Fi detective story that’s filled withmystery, heart and great characterizations within a short period of reading length.

Picture: Reality Badge by Vincent Chong (Interior artwork available in the limited edition of Snapshot)

I finished reading this novella in around one hour and due to the short length of reading time, this is where I’ll end my review to avoid spoiling anything; dive into this one as blindly as possible like I did. I’m an extremely heavy epic fantasy reader and it will always be my favorite genre, but once in a while I have to take a little break from the genre to avoid feeling burned out; Snapshot is the perfect palate cleanser for me.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for a short fantastic Sci-Fi detective story. This is the first time I read anything written by Sanderson out of his Cosmere books and it certainly won’t be the last.

Petrik has been a gamer and reader since he was 5 years old. Not once did he thought back then that these two passion of his will last a lifetime, turns out they will. His favorite genres are Adult Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Grimdark and Sci-Fi.